• THE LIFE AND

WORKS OF RIZAL
INTRODUCTION
RIZAL EVERYWHERE
 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425

AN ACT TO INCLUDE IN THE CURRICULA OF ALL

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES COURSES ON THE LIFE, WORKS AND
WRITINGS OF JOSE RIZAL, PARTICULARLY HIS
NOVELS NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO,
AUTHORIZING THE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION
THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
SECTION 1. Courses on the life, works
and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly
his novel Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, shall be included in the
curricula of all schools, colleges and
universities, public or private.
SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all
schools, colleges and universities to keep
in their libraries an adequate number of
copies of the original and unexpurgated
editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, as well as of Rizal’s other
works and biography.
SECTION 3. The Board of National Education shall
cause the translation of the Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, as well as other writings of Jose
Rizal into English, Tagalog and the principal
Philippine dialects; cause them to be printed in
cheap, popular editions; and cause them to be
distributed, free of charge, to persons desiring to
read them, through the Purok organizations and
Barrio Councils throughout the country.
SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as amendment or repealing
section nine hundred twenty-seven of the
Administrative Code, prohibiting the
discussion of religious doctrines by
public school teachers and other person
engaged in any public school.
SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred
thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be
appropriated out of any fund not otherwise
appropriated in the National Treasury to
carry out the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon

its approval.
WHY STUDY RIZAL?
 
It is of great importance that students understand the
rationale behind having to take up a Rizal course in
college.  For high school students, the Noli Me Tangere
and the El Filibusterismo are injected into the Filipino
subject as part of the overall curriculum.  In tertiary
education, however, Rizal is a subject required of any
course, in any college or university in the Philippines. 
 As a result students would take an active part not only in the
classroom setting but also in participating outside activities for
the betterment of the Philippine society in general.
 More importantly, the value of being a religious person, a
loving and obedient son to his parents/family, a responsible
student, a strong willed individual who stands for his
convictions, the one who loves and serves the country are
some of the virtues of Rizal that must and should be
emphasized in the whole duration of the coarse.
THE ANSWER TO SUCH QUESTIONS CAN BE SUMMED
UP IN TWO POINTS:
 First and foremost, because it is mandated by law.
1.The teaching of Jose Rizal’s life, works, and writings is
mandated by Republic Act 1425,
otherwise known as the Rizal Law;
Senator Jose P. Laurel, the person who sponsored the said law,
2.Rizal was the founder of Philippine nationalism
and has contributed much to the current standing
of this nation, it is only right that the youth as well
as all the people in the country know about and
learn to imbibe the great ideals for which he died. 
THE RIZAL LAW, ENACTED IN 1956, SEEKS TO
ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING GOALS:
1.To rededicate the lives of youth to the ideals of
freedom and nationalism, for which our heroes lived
and died;
2.To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life
and works in shaping the Filipino character
3.To gain an inspiring source of patriotism through the
study of Rizal’s life, works,
and writings.
 
 Secondly, because of the lessons contained within the course itself.
1. To recognize the importance of Rizal’s ideals and teachings in relation to
present conditions and situations in the society.
2. To encourage the application of such ideals in current social and personal
problems and issues.
3. To develop an appreciation and deeper understanding of all that Rizal
fought and died for. 
4. To foster the development of the Filipino youth in all aspects of
citizenship.
5. Serves to remind and inspire the educators and educational leaders in
educating the youth and in shaping the Filipino character.
1. Rizal’s life, his character and his ideals, and how he lived and thought
and died, offers us the best lesson.
2. The life of Rizal- will lead you to the realization that Rizal was both
GREAT and WISE.
3. Great- because he suffered sacrificed, and finally died for his country
4. Wise- his wisdom, his versatility, his many-sided talents-novelist, poet,
linguist, physician, sculpture, painter, musician. . .
5. The best way to appreciate the character and greatness of Rizal is to
know about him- his life, his works and his writing. 
6. The best way to know the greatness of Rizal is precisely to read about
him and what he wrote
 
 
WORTHY AND PERFECT EXAMPLE TO HIS PEOPLE OF ALL
AGES

1. He possessed qualities that are so urgently needed and yet so rarely

found in this day and age in our country.
2. These days when juvenile delinquency seems to be at a loss as to its
solution, we have an effective recourse and that is to show and teach the
youth Rizal way.
3. And in pointing to and prescribing the Rizal way as the rightful course in
the development of our national character and in shaping the
destiny of the youth.
WHAT IS A HERO?
 A prominent or central personage taking an admirable part in
any remarkable action or event.(Webster)
 A person of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or
fortitude in suffering.
 A man honored after death by public worship, because of
exceptional service to mankind.
 A man becomes a hero, or a national hero, not because he
leads a revolution – but because he is admired for his
achievements and noble qualities, and considered a model or
ideal.”
THE TRUTH
Did you know that it was Gen. Aguinaldo,
who first recognized Rizal as the National
Hero, and not the 2nd Philippine
Commission Headed by Civil Gov. Taft?
 ACCORDING TO AGONCILLO…(1986)

He pointed out that Rizal was acceptable as a

national hero to the Americans because he was a
symbol of assimilation, which was the American
Policy then in the Philippines.
 CONSTANTINO…..
 said that there were other factors, which contributed to Rizal’s
acceptability as the official hero of the Philippines:

 Rizal was already dead at the time the Americans began their

aggression in the Philippines.
 No embarrassing anti-American quotations could ever be attributed
to Rizal.
 Rizal’s dramatic martyrdom had already made him the symbol of
Spanish oppression.
 GUERRERO (1998)-
Asserts that it is the Filipinos who have chosen Rizal to
be the symbol of our nationalism as a people even before
he died. In choosing Rizal as our Filipino national hero,
a number of conclusions can be drawn:
Since the Filipinos love peace, they have chosen to
magnify a man of peace above the men of war.
 DE OCAMPO(1969)
said that Rizal was the first exponent of Asian
nationalism since he was the source of
inspiration for the outbreak of the Philippine
Revolution of 1896.
 SELECTION AND PROCLAMATION OF
NATIONAL HEROES
 On March 28, 1993,President Fidel V. Ramos
issued Executive Order No.75 entitled "Creating the
National Heroes Committee under the Office of the
President". 
CRITERIA FOR NATIONAL HEROES

1.Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and

thereafter aspire and struggle for the nation’s
freedom. Our own struggle for freedom was begun
by Bonifacio and finished by Aguinaldo, the latter
formally declaring the revolution’s success.
2. Heroes are those who define and contribute to a
system or life of freedom and order for a nation.
Freedom without order will only lead to anarchy.
Therefore, heroes are those who make the nation’s
constitution and laws, such as Mabini and Recto. 3.
Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of
life and destiny of a nation.
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR HEROES
1.A hero is part of the people’s expression. But the
process of a people’s internalization of a hero’s life and
works takes time, with the youth forming a part of the
internalization.
2.A hero thinks of the future, especially the future
generations.The choice of a hero involves not only the
recounting of an episode or events in history, but of the
entire process that made this particular person a hero.
Rizal, A True Filipino Hero
In making Rizal as our Filipino national hero, a number of
conclusions can be drawn:
 Since Filipinos love peace, they have chosen to magnify a man
of peace, they have chosen to magnify a man of peace above
the men of war;
 Because Filipinos are lovers of freedom and justice, they have
given their worship to a man who gave up all comforts and
pleasures of peace for their sake; and
 Filipinos prize virtue more than victory, and sacrifice above
success.
Two years after his death:

• Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree on December

20, 1898 ordering that December 30, the
anniversary of Rizal’s execution at
Bagumbayan which was commemorated as “a
day of mourning for Rizal and the victims of
the Philippine Revolution;”
• Act No. 345, by the virtue of this Act, the Philippine
Commission set aside December 30 as the day of
Observance,
• Act No. 243 of the Philippine Commission- was the
erection of Rizal’s monument in Luneta through public
subscription.
• Act No. 137 of the Philippine Commission- was the
naming of Rizal province after Jose Rizal as well as many
main streets and avenues of towns and cities.
•  
What Made Jose Rizal Our Foremost National Hero, And Why?
• 1st: He is our greatest hero because, as a towering figure in the
Propaganda Campaign, he took an “admirable part” in that movement
which roughly covered the period from 1882 to 1896.

• 2nd: No Filipino has yet been born who could equal or surpass Rizal as “a
person of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in
suffering.

• 3rd: Because he is a “man honored after death by public worship, because

of exceptional service to mankind.”
WHO MADE RIZAL THE FOREMOST HERO OF THE
PHILIPPINES?
• “No single person or groups of persons were
responsible for making the Greatest Malayan the
Number One Hero of his people. Rizal himself,
his own people, & the foreigners all together
contributed to make him the greatest hero &
martyr of his people.”
WHY NOT BONIFACIO?
“The pen is mightier & even more
powerful than the sword.”
THANK YOU